“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”—Warren Buffett
What we do today—what we sow, if you would—have lasting impact on tomorrow. Real success is not measured in wins or accomplishments, but rather the fruit of our efforts. The following scene from Facing the Giants comes to mind:
Brock Kelley: “You don’t want us to win games?”
Grant Taylor: “No. Not if that’s our main goal. Winning football games is too small a thing to live for. And I love football as much as anybody. But even championship trophies will collect dust and one day be forgotten. It’s just that so far this has all been about us; how we can look good, how we can get the glory. The more I read this book, the more I realize that life’s not about us. We’re not here to get glory, make money, and die. The Bible says that God put us here for Him. To honor Him. Jesus said that the most important thing you can do with your life is to love God with everything you are, to love others and yourself. So, if we win every game and we miss that, we’ve done nothing. Football then means nothing. So, I’m here to present you a new team philosophy. I think that football is just one of the tools we use to honor God.”
Brock Kelley: “So, you think that God does care about football?”
Grant Taylor: “I think He cares about your faith. He cares about where your heart is. And if you can live your faith out on the football field then, yes, God cares about football because He cares about you. He sent His son Jesus to die for us so we could live for Him. That’s why we’re here. But see, it’s not just on the football field; we’ve got to honor Him in our relationships, our respect for authority, in the classroom, and when you’re at home alone surfing the Internet. I want God to bless this team so much that people talk about what He did. But it means we got to give Him our best in every area. If we win, we praise Him. And, if we lose, we praise Him. Either way, we honor Him with our actions and our attitudes. So, I’m asking you: what are you living for? I’ve resolved to give God everything I’ve got. Then I’ll leave the results up to Him. I want to know if you’ll join me?”
Whatever one’s faith, this is Spiritual well-centeredness. This is “I am third”. Life is all about what we do to honor something greater than ourselves. “We’re not here to get glory, make money, and die.” We are here for the benefit of others—to have a lasting impact on others. That impact should not have full materialization for generations to come. Joe Ehrmann (InSideOut Coaching) wrote that “at the end of our life, we ought to be able to look back over it from our deathbed and know somehow the world is a better place because we lived, we loved, we were other-centered, other-focused.” Success is not what we gain today. Rather success is what others gain from what we do today.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow!
Carpe momento!
“It comes down to this: What kind of father are you? What kind of husband are you? What kind of coach or teammate are you? What kind of son are you? What kind of friend are you? Success comes in terms of relationships.”—Joe Ehrmann
Image: The Lorax